Expectations vs. Reality

I always wish there was some sort of device that I could hook up to my head, that would translate all the images up there into words. Because seriously, one of the most frustrating parts of writing for me is trying to get what's in my head onto paper. It either doesn't come out right or takes too long to get down or just doesn't live up to my expectations.

When I first started "seriously" writing, I was living under the dreadful misconception that all I needed to do was sit down and write and I'd be done. I knew, of course, that there would be revisions. But I thought of those more as just checking for typos and grammar mistakes. I had NO idea the work involved in crafting a real, publishable book. I had no idea that the REAL work on a book happens after you get that first draft down.

So I was a bit surprised when I sent my manuscript off to my first crit group and realized that it looked more like picture B up there than picture A :D

Now, when revisions get tough, I just try to remind myself that my manuscripts can and will be like the perfect vision I expect...but they will most likely start out like the reality snowman up there and will take a lot of work to make them awesome :) The important thing is that I keep crafting and sculpting until I get there. Because if I give up halfway through, my poor manuscript will always look like Frosty on a bad day :D

Do your expectations ever live up to reality? What do you do when they don't?

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Expectations vs. Reality

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Wiping Walls and Polishing Manuscripts

So, I was wiping down the walls the other day (please...contain your jealousy of my glamourous life) ;-) and, as often occurs, was reminded of writing.



See, I grabbed a rag just to wipe off some finger prints I saw on the door jamb going into the kitchen. But after I wiped those off, I noticed more over on the back door. And then I noticed more on the doorway leading to the stairs, and then I saw more....well, you see what I mean. Pretty soon I had a bucket of suds and was wiping down every wall, door, and doorway in my house.



I tend to do this with my manuscripts as well. I often go into revisions thinking "everything is pretty good, I just need to make a few tweaks here and there."



And then I get into my pages and notice just a few more things that need some cleaning up...and then a couple more things pop up...and then those things lead to a few more things...and before I know it I've gone in an done a complete overhaul of my whole book :D



This doesn't always happen, of course. But I almost always find more to fix than I thought I needed going in.



Do you do this? Do you go in thinking all you need is a quick wipe down and end up with a bucket and a scrub brush? :D



For me, this actually works well. My preconceived notions help keep me from freaking out when I go into revisions. By the time I realize it needs more work than I thought, I'm already elbow deep into scrubbing and am (usually) pumped to keep going :)

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Wiping Walls and Polishing Manuscripts

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What Did You Expect?

First of all, nope, no new words...my Potato Man says it all....



Buuuuut that will hopefully be changing today :D

Right now, I actually have a question for everyone out there...is your writer's life what you thought it would be? I know before I began this journey, before I decided to really start doing this "for real", for publication, I had this vision of what my life as a writer would be like.

And boy was I wrong LOL

I imagined myself putting my kids down for a nap or for bed, or sending them off for school, and sitting down at my computer and immediately pounding out pristine prose that only needed a quick proofread and a few minor tweaks. Everyone else would love it (okay, I knew not EVERYONE would love it), and I'd have offers pouring in the moment I sent queries out....

Well, I was a little more realistic than that :D but seriously, the way it really is and the way I thought it would be are very far apart. I honestly had NO idea how much work goes into writing a book. Didn't understand that I would agonize over the perfect word...that I would be WAITING forever for everything...that the rejections would sting as much as they do (and that there would be so many of them LOL).

I also never imagined how incredible it would feel to have someone read my book and LOVE it....how exciting it would be to sign with my agent, or the complete euphoria (followed and forever after mixed in with terror :D ) that would accompany my very first sale to a publisher, or the happy obsession I'd feel staring at my brand new cover :)

Everything about this crazy world of writing is just so much MORE than I ever expected, both the good and the bad.

So I'm wondering, is it everything you expected?

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What Did You Expect?

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